News Asia
AI Videos Of Modi Spark Controversy in Indian General Election
(CTN News) – An AI video depicts a delighted Narendra Modi dancing on stage to a Bollywood tune while the audience shouts. The Indian prime minister reshared the video on X, writing, “Such creativity during peak poll season is truly a delight.”
Another video, with a similar stage setup, depicts Modi’s competitor, Mamata Banerjee, dancing in a saree-like costume. The background music is excerpts from her speech criticizing those who left her party to join Modi’s. State police have initiated an inquiry, claiming that the footage could “affect law and order.”
Modi’s Lighthearted Response
The various reactions to movies generated with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques highlight how the use and abuse of the technology is rising, causing concern among regulators and security officials before the world’s most populous country holds a massive general election.
AI films with near-perfect shadows and hand movements are simple to create and may sometimes mislead even the most digitally aware individuals. However, risks are higher in a country where many of the 1.4 billion people are technologically challenged and where falsified content may readily incite sectarian tensions, particularly during election season.
A January World Economic Forum poll found that disinformation poses a greater risk to India than infectious diseases or illegal economic activity during the next two years.
“India is already at a high risk of misinformation — with AI, it can spread 100 times faster,” said New Delhi-based consultant Sagar Vishnoi, advising certain political parties on using AI in India’s election.
“Elderly folks, who are typically not technologically aware, are increasingly falling for misleading narratives helped by AI films. This could have catastrophic effects, such as inciting enmity toward a community, caste, or religion.
The 2024 national election, which lasts six weeks and ends on June 1, is the first time AI will be used. The initial examples were harmless, with some politicians employing technology to generate movies and sound to personalize their campaigns.
However, big incidents of misuse made headlines in April, including deepfakes of Bollywood actors denouncing Modi and fake videos involving two of Modi’s senior aides, which resulted in the arrest of nine people.
Last week, India’s Election Commission advised political parties against using AI to propagate falsehoods and published seven provisions of information technology and other laws that carry jail sentences of up to three years for offenses such as forgery, propagating rumors, and hostility.
A senior national security officer in New Delhi said officials fear bogus news could spark riots. The cheap availability of AI tools allows for creating such fake news, particularly during elections, which is tough to counter, according to the official.
“We do not have adequate monitoring capacity…” “The ever-changing AI environment is difficult to keep track of,” the official stated.
A top election official stated, “We are unable to fully monitor social media; forget about controlling content.”
They declined to be identified since they could not communicate with the media.
AI and deepfakes are increasingly employed in elections worldwide, including the United States, Pakistan, and Indonesia. The recent distribution of the films in India demonstrates the difficulties encountered by authorities.
For years, an Indian IT ministry panel has existed to order the censoring of anything that it believes threatens public order, either at its discretion or in response to complaints. During the election, poll watchdogs and police departments deployed hundreds of officials to discover and remove questionable information.
Response from Social Media Platforms
While Modi’s reaction to his AI dancing video was lighthearted — “I also enjoyed seeing myself dance” — the Kolkata city police in West Bengal state began investigating X user SoldierSaffron7 for sharing the Banerjee video.
Dulal Saha Roy, a cybercrime officer in Kolkata, posted a typed notice on X, warning the user to erase the video or face “severe penal action.”
The user told Reuters via X direct messaging, “I am not deleting that, no matter what happens,” but declined to disclose their phone number or true name for fear of police action. “They can’t trace [me].”
According to Reuters, election officials can only request that content be removed from social media platforms if it does not violate their standards.
Modi and Banerjee’s dancing films, which have received 30 million and 1.1 million views on X, were created using the free website Viggle. The site uses an image and a few simple prompts described in a tutorial to make movies in minutes of the person in the photograph dancing or performing other real-life actions.
Viggle co-founder Hang Chu and Banerjee’s office did not answer Reuters’ questions.
In addition to the two dancing AI videos, a 25-second Viggle movie circulating online shows Banerjee appearing in front of a burning hospital and blowing it up with a remote.
This AI-altered footage from the 2008 film The Dark Knight depicts Batman’s adversary, the Joker, causing chaos. The video post has received 420,000 views.
The West Bengal police believe it violates Indian IT regulations, but X has not taken any action as it “strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users” according to an email notice sent by X to the user, which Reuters examined.
“They can do nothing to me. “I didn’t take that [notice] seriously,” the user told Reuters using X direct chat.
News Asia
Bangladesh Supreme Court to Rule on Controversial Job Quotas Amid Nationwide protests
(CTN News) – The future of public service hiring regulations, which have provoked national conflicts between police and university students that have resulted in at least 133 fatalities so far, is set to be decided by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday, or today.
Later in the day, the nation’s highest court will meet to declare its decision about the controversial job quotas—either in favor of or against their elimination.
This week’s protests over politically motivated admission quotas for highly sought-after government posts turned into some of the worst instability during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s watch.
Due to the ongoing turmoil, a curfew has been in place since Friday. In addition, the government has declared a two-day holiday during which all offices and institutions would be closed.
After riot police were unable to restore order, soldiers are now policing cities throughout Bangladesh, and since Thursday, there has been a statewide internet blackout that has severely limited the flow of information to the outside world.
SEE ALSO: Nearly 1,000 Indian Students Return from Bangladesh Amid Deadly Unrest Over Job Quota System
Hasina made hints to the public this week that the plan will be abandoned, which comes after her opponents accuse her government of using the judiciary to further its own agenda.
However, a positive decision is unlikely to calm the nation’s simmering rage in the wake of the intensifying crackdown and growing dead toll.
Business owner Hasibul Sheikh, 24, told AFP, “It’s not about the rights of the students anymore,” while observing a Saturday street demonstration in the capital city of Dhaka against a statewide curfew.
“Our demand is one point now, and that’s the resignation of the government,” he stated.
A system that reserves more than half of civil service positions for particular groups, like as children of veterans of the 1971 war, is the driving force behind the upheaval this month.
Hasina, 76, has ruled the nation since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January following a ballot in which there was no real competition, according to critics who claim the program helps families who support her.
Rights organizations accuse Hasina’s government of abusing state institutions, including as the extrajudicial assassination of opposition activists, in order to strengthen its grasp on power and quell dissent.
Bangladesh’s 170 million people lack access to sufficient employment possibilities, therefore the quota system is a major cause of anger for recent graduates who are struggling to find work.
“The government’s actions have made the situation worse, rather than trying to address the protesters’ grievances,” Pierre Prakash, Asia director of Crisis Group, told AFP.
After a week of increasing violence, Hasina canceled her intentions to depart the nation on Sunday for a diplomatic trip to Spain and Brazil.
Source: The Indian Express
News Asia
Pakistani Government Plans to Ban PTI
(CTN News) – The Pakistani government has announced measures to outlaw Pakistan Terheek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar made the declaration on Monday, only days after the Supreme Court declared the PTI eligible for a share of reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies.
After reviewing all relevant information, the government has decided to ban PTI. “We will file a case to ban the party,” he said, citing claims such as inciting violent protests last year and leaking confidential information.
Tarar stated that the case would be moved to the Supreme Court.
He also stated that the government intended to file treason charges against Khan and two other senior party leaders, former President of Pakistan Arif Alvi and ex-Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri, as well as a review appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling that the PTI should be allocated some assembly seats reserved for women and members of religious minorities.
According to Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a top PTI politician and party spokesperson, the government’s action “betrays their complete panic”.
“After realizing that they could no longer threaten, compel, or blackmail judges, they decided to make this move through the cabinet. “All of their attempts to stop us have been declared illegal by the courts,” he stated.
Last week, the Supreme Court recognized the PTI as a political party and confirmed that the party’s lack of an electoral emblem did not affect its legal right to field candidates.
The verdict was in response to the PTI being barred from competing in parliamentary elections in February using its party emblem, the cricket bat, forcing it to field candidates as independents.
Despite the setback, PTI-backed candidates emerged as the largest parliamentary bloc, winning 93 seats.
After Khan declined to cooperate with his political opponents, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) formed a coalition government with other smaller parties.
Ex-Governor Sindh Zubair, who formerly served in the PMLN, stated that the government’s action was in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling last week and warned of political upheaval ahead.
“The powers that be are trying to disenfranchise the largest majority of voters of the country, who voted for PTI,” he disclosed to Al Jazeera.
Khan was appointed prime minister in August 2018 but was dismissed from power in April 2022 after a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.
The cricketer-turned-politician has since faced a slew of legal issues, including charges of misplacing and leaking the contents of a confidential cable delivered to Islamabad by Pakistan’s then-ambassador in the US in 2022.
Khan has continually disputed the charge, claiming that the dossier contained evidence that his resignation as prime minister was orchestrated by his political opponents and the country’s powerful military, with assistance from the US administration. Both Washington and Pakistan’s army deny the accusation.
Despite multiple recent court verdicts in his favor, Khan has been in prison since August of last year.
Source: Aljazeera
News Asia
NAB Re-Arrests Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi After Iddat Case Conviction Overturned
(CTN News) – Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were acquitted in the Iddat case by a sessions court on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the PTI in reserved seats.
However, their relief was short-lived when Imran Khan was detained by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for selling official goods. Bushra Bibi was also rearrested in this case while being released from Adiala Jail’s Gate No. 3.
According to sources, the NAB detained Bushra Bibi after the bureau’s chairman issued arrest warrants for her and Imran Khan. Both are to be investigated in Adiala Jail.
Opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan condemned Bushra Bibi’s imprisonment and criticized the Adiala Jail administration. He also cautioned the jail superintendent of the repercussions and announced that a privilege motion would be filed against him.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were acquitted in the Iddat case after Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Afzal Majoka reversed their previous verdict, which sentenced them to seven years in prison on February 3, five days before the general election.
Imran Khan’s lawyers, Usman Gill and Zaheer Abbas, were in court when the verdict was pronounced.
In the 28-page ruling, Judge Majoka rejected Khawar Fareed Maneka, Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband,’s arguments that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s nikah was illegally performed and that Mr. Maneka was denied Buju (reconciliation rights) under religious law.
The court also rejected the allegation of fornication under provision 496-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), stating that no charge was filed under this provision against both Imran Khan and his spouse “because there was no evidence of a second witness”. The trial court heard only one witness, Mr Maneka’s domestic servant.
“In these circumstances, it cannot be said that the appellants committed fornication,” the judge wrote. Regarding the charge of contracting marriage fraudulently during the Iddat period, the judge found that in a video given as evidence during the trial, Mr. Maneka lauded his ex-wife, Bushra Bibi, and “deposed that his ex-wife is a pious lady.”
The magistrate inquired about “how this witness [Mr Maneka] can claim that the appellant No. 2 [Bushra Bibi] committed fraud with him” .
The court announced its decision: “From a perusal of Section 496 PPC and the above-mentioned esteemed citations, this court is of the view that the appellants have not gone through any marriage ceremony fraudulently or with dishonest intention because none of the parties claimed that nikah was not performed and fraudulently he or she was supposed to believe that marriage ceremony was solemnised.”
The court judgment added: “In the instant instance, it is the complainant’s case that the appellants’ nikah was done on January 1, 2018, followed by the second nikah in February 2018. By no stretch of the imagination, it was a marriage with dishonest or deceptive intentions.”
Regarding Mr. Maneka’s claim that he was denied reconciliation rights and so deceived by Imran Khan and Ms. Bibi, the court noted that during cross-examination, Mr. Maneka stated that he learned of the appellants’ marriage on the second day of their nikah.
Before submitting the complaint, the judge questioned why Mr Maneka had been silent on his reconciliation rights for six years.
The judge stated, “The complainant has failed to prove his case against the appellants.” As a result, both appeals filed by appellants No. 1 [Imran Khan] and No. 2 [Bushra Bibi] are accepted, the judgment of the learned trial court of February 3, 2024, is overturned, and both appellants are acquitted of the accusation.”
The court ordered their freedom unless they needed to be imprisoned in other cases.
Source: DAWN
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